A conversation of homeownership and its barriers related to the disability community, hosted in partnership with Blend.
About this event
In response to growing awareness surrounding this important issue, Diversability is pleased to announce our upcoming event Diversability Unplugged: Disability Homeownership and the American Dream on Wednesday, June 16 from 7pm-8:30pm EDT / 4pm-5:30pm PDT.
Topics discussed ranging from personal homeownership experiences, systemic barriers to homeownership, structural and policy issues surrounding homeownership and more.
This conversation will be moderated by Emily Bilbao (she/her), Strategic Operations at Blend.
Panelists
Ashley Jacobson (she/her) is a disability rights attorney living with physical disability in the state of Michigan. Through her law firm, Jacobson Law & Advocacy, she protects the rights of clients with disabilities in workplaces, schools, courtrooms, and communities. Ashley also owns and operates Adaptive Inclusion, a nationwide disability counseling and consulting firm, utilizing her master’s degree and certification in disability counseling and assessment (CRC).
Ashley is a published writer and has served on several panels discussing disability in the workplace, adapting to disability, and disability rights. With professional expertise and empathy informed by personal experience, her mission is to empower disabled individuals and advocate for a more equal, inclusive, and accessible future.
More information about Ashley can be found at JLAPLLC.com and AdaptiveInclusion.com.
Danh Trang (he/him) is a Senior Product Manager at Mux, a company on a mission to power online video with simple APIs any developer can use (think Stripe/Plaid for online video).
Before Mux, Danh was an early employee and Product Manager at Blend and a Trader at Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund. Majoring in Finance and Computer Science, Danh graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, a dual-degree program between The Wharton School of Business and UPenn’s Engineering School.
Danh previously served on the Board of Directors of Little People of America (LPA), a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for individuals with dwarfism (a condition he was born with).
Danh has also served as Chief Business Officer of Breathe For Change, a company enhancing the health and well-being of teachers, students, and school communities. Breathe For Change’s transformational training seminars have certified over 5000 educators and hundreds of thousands of students have benefited from Breathe For Change’s wellness curriculum.
When not working, Danh is also a startup investor/advisor and an avid runner. He’s run 8 marathons (including 7 consecutive Boston Marathons) and has represented Team USA at numerous International Para-Badminton Tournaments (taking home Gold in Colombia in 2016!). Danh grew up in the Bay Area and currently resides in San Francisco with his partner, Ilana, and they’re expecting their first kid in August!
Nicole Weitzman (she/her) is a Physical Therapist Assistant and homeowner living in the greater Phoenix, AZ area. Nicole’s experience as a deaf person, along with her recent endeavor to refinance mortgage her own home provides a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing the disabled community as they seek homeownership
Angela Fox (she/her) is a Maryland Attorney by trade and a mediator for the federal government. Born a paraplegic before the passing of the American with Disabilities Act, she faced overwhelming obstacles and have used her legal degree and mediation skills to resolve complex civil rights and employment issues for employees with disabilities.
Ms. Fox has expanded her advocacy by focusing on homeownership and independent living concerns for the disability community after struggling to buy and modify her home near Washington DC during the housing market crisis because of her disability. She successfully challenged a policy by the Maryland Assistive Technology (MDTAP) loan program that in practice prevented new disabled home owners to obtain low interest home equity loans to modify a home because new home owners lacked home equity for the required secured loan. She was asked and served as a board member for six years on the MDTAP. Ms. Fox wrote a how to book on Amazon, “My blue front door”, about buying and modifying a home for mobility impairments for the disabled working class that covers a range of issues from working with your real estate agent to modifying your home. Recently Ms. Fox has created a podcast, Accessibility Is Home. Her podcast has candid conversations with agents of the housing industry and highlights successful stories of disabled homeowners.
Once registered, attendees will receive a Zoom link to the email used to register 1 hour before the start of the event.
Accessibility
This event will be held on Zoom. Closed captioning and ASL interpreters provided. If you have additional accessibility needs please email us at whitney@mydiversability.com by June 10th with email subject "June Diversability Unplugged Accessibility".